Charlotte 49ers falter down the stretch, lose to Georgia State

The Charlotte 49ers played a solid 35 minutes Friday night at Halton Arena. Georgia State played a spectacular final five minutes, and that made the difference in the Panthers’ 76-65 nonconference victory over the 49ers.

Charlotte (0-2) led the high-scoring Panthers (3-1) for much of the second half and was up 59-58 after guard Jordan Shepherd made both halves of a one-and-one with 5:34 to play.

Georgia State then outscored the 49ers 18-6 down the stretch. Charlotte self-destructed with missed shots and turnovers.

“We played really well in the first half,” 49ers’ coach Ron Sanchez said. “That team can score a lot of points, but we were holding them in check.”

The Panthers scored 100 or more points in two of their first three games but trailed the 49ers 36-32 at the half.

Sanchez said the game turned in the second half when Georgia State was able to get out and run.

“We did not play well in transition in the second half,” he said. “They scored a lot of points in the second half off transition. We can’t have that.”

In the final 5½ minutes of the game, the 49ers went 0 of 5 from the floor, turned the ball over three times, and hit just 3 of 7 from the foul line.

“We did a poor job of handling the ball down the stretch,” said 49ers’ guard Jahmir Young.

AND ONE

The 49ers’ overall played well defensively against Georgia State. The Panthers shot 40% from the floor (24 of 60). And Charlotte held Panthers season leading scorer Ryan Boyce to seven points.

PERSONAL FOUL

Jordan Shepherd, the 49ers’ preseason all-conference guard, had a rough shooting night. He was 3 of 14 from the floor, including 2 of 7 from 3-point range. Shepherd finished with 15 points and was sharp from the foul line, making 7 of 9.

ICYMI

Sophomore Jahmir Young finished with 20 points. It was the fourth time he has scored 20 or more for the 49ers.

Hopewell High product Brice Williams had a nice game. He finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

The 49ers don’t have much time to fret about the loss. They are back in action at home Monday evening against S.C. State. Charlotte also is home next Friday against Appalachian State.

MAKING SENSE OF THE NUMBERS

27: The total number of lead changes and times the game was tied. This was a close contest until the final minutes.

8: Number of blocked shots by the 49ers. It was the most since Charlotte had nine last season in a game against … Georgia State.

0: The 49ers’ shooting percentage from the floor in the closing 5:34. Charlotte made 0-of-5 in that stretch. For the game, the 49ers hit 20 of 51 (40%).

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle